Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Friday, February 24, 2012

The 84th Annual Academy Awards are on Sunday, February 26th and while I'm not one to beat down the theater box office doors to catch every new movie on the big screen, I usually do watch the Oscars... very often without much knowledge about the films that have nominated. Not this year!

Y'all know that with The Help being up for Best Picture, Viola Davis for Best Actress in a Leading Role and both Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain up for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (and frankly I thought the film should have been up for Costume Design too, just sayin'), well... I'll sure be hanging around watching and rooting for my gals this Sunday! I loved The Help so much that I own not one, but three copies of the book - the original hardback, the paperback movie tie-in version, and the e-book on Kindle/iPad - and of course, as soon as it went on sale, I uploaded the movie on my Kindle too. What can I say? I loved everything about The Help.

Whether you're having a party or just want to honor The Help with a classic southern menu, here's a great collection of some of my favorite recipes from the site. Oh, and just in case you can't hang around a television on Sunday, of course, yes, there is an app for that too!

If you think this sounds yummy, I'd sure ♥ it if you'd click to pin it, tweet it, stumble it, or share it on Facebook to help spread the word - thanks!

Southern Style Baked Beans aren't just for summer barbecues y'all! They're good served hot or at room temperature, and they'd sure go great with that fried chicken too.

If you're not in the mood for baked beans, these Black-eyed Peas would go great with that chicken, or you can make pretty much any of the southern peas using this same basic method.

There has to be bread of some kind with every southern meal, and while rolls would be wonderful, and so would cornbread, I think this skillet biscuit bread would fit in just perfect.

And of course, the perfect dessert finale on a menu inspired by The Help would have to be Southern Caramel Cake.

But, if you're not in the mood for cake baking, I don't think a single soul would be disappointed if you brought out a big ole bowl of classic, Homemade Southern Banana Pudding.

And last, but not least, let's not forget cocktail hour! While there is an official Moet Red Carpet Glamour Cocktail, I think my Southern Iced Tea Cocktail is rather fitting for this southern Oscar menu inspired by The Help. I'll sure be looking forward to one!

So there you are - a fitting menu I think! I've got my fingers and toes crossed for The Help and would love to see any of these ladies win. Who are you hoping to see take home an Oscar?

19 comments:

When I read the title, I thought this was going to be about preparing Oscar - the common aquarium fish. Our crappie fishing neighbors spend the winters fishing in FLA and as it turns out they catch Oscars and they are very good - other than a little more pink in color, it's hard to tell them from crappie.

Pinned it! Our Southern Girl Gang watched it again this weekend while they were visiting her in Louisiana and sipping on Bless Your Hearts. Now I want them to come back to visit so I can make them some of these dishes to eat.

Although we all know how the story goes, I have made my gramma's chocolate chess pie many times since watching The Help and I assure you all- after you taste it, you forget all about that "secret ingredient"!

Have to delurk to say I love your blog. My parents were both from the South but moved up North before I was born. Growing up on soup beans, cornbread in buttermilk, collards, biscuits, stack cakes and fried chicken, I felt like an alien where my friends were eating kielbasa and pierogis. Listening to my parents' slow drawl, hearing stories about their homes,being told to not get "above my raisin'" and knowing to always say "yes, ma'am", I grew up thinking I was a misplaced southerner as well.

I married a Northerner so I'm stuck here until my husband retires but he's promised we can move south then. Nowadays I get down south a couple times a year to visit family where life is slower and strangers call you 'hon', and coming back always just feels wrong. Even though I was born in the north, I'm a southerner at heart. Thanks for letting me vicariously be one on your blog.

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Hey Y’all! Welcome to some good ole, down home southern cooking. Pull up a chair, grab some iced tea, and 'sit a bit' as we say down south. If this is your first time visiting Deep South Dish, you can sign up for FREE updates via EMAIL or RSS feed, or you can catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter too!

You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients. ~Julia Child

The classic southern plate for supper is made up of meat and three, cornbread or rolls & a tall glass of sweet iced tea.

Oftentimes what makes a recipe southern, is as much a state of mind as it is a matter of geography - Southerners simply decide a particular food is southern, and that's that." ~Rick McDaniel, Food Historian

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